Cashman says Pineda could pitch for Yanks in '13

BOSTON -- Michael Pineda has resumed throwing on flat ground after being shut down by the Yankees due to discomfort in his right shoulder.

General manager Brian Cashman said on Sunday that there is still a chance that Pineda, who had been pitching at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, could make his Yankees debut later this season.

"I think if everything is as we hope it to be, then he will have a chance to do that," Cashman said. "Whether we do that or not, I don't know. Our expectation is that he would be in a position to do that if we needed him."

Pineda was forced to leave an Aug. 2 Triple-A start after two innings due to stiffness in his shoulder, and the Yankees have been managing his innings as he returns from right labrum surgery.

Acquired by the Yankees from the Mariners in a January 2012 trade, Pineda is 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 Minor League starts this year for Class A Advanced Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Cashman: 'I'm not comfortable' talking to A-Rod

BOSTON -- In yet another example of the fractured relationship between Alex Rodriguez and his employers, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on Sunday that he has very little to say to his beleaguered third baseman.

"I'm not comfortable talking to Alex on this stuff, because I feel we're in a litigious environment, so I am not comfortable anymore talking to him," Cashman said during a lengthy interview in the visiting dugout at Fenway Park.

"Hello, goodbye, and that's it. Because anything else, I don't want to be distorted, to be quite honest."

Cashman said that he did speak to Rodriguez at the Yankees' Boston hotel on Friday, but their conversation did not go beyond a general greeting.

Cashman said that the Yankees and Rodriguez are "stuck" together as they attempt to handle Rodriguez's 211-game suspension and his appeal, a situation that he has described as "odd" because Rodriguez has placed himself behind a phalanx of attorneys.

The GM acknowledged that he believes Rodriguez is helping the team on the field, despite the "headaches" his due process has created. Cashman rejected a suggestion that the saga could prompt the Yankees to release Rodriguez, who has four years and $86 million remaining on his contract after this season.

"That's not something for me ... I don't think that's something that would be considered, personally," Cashman said.

The latest member of Rodriguez's legal team, Joseph Tacopina, spoke candidly in an interview with The New York Times that was published on Saturday. Among numerous claims, Tacopina alleged that the Yankees concealed MRI results that would have shown Rodriguez's left hip was injured during the 2012 playoffs.

Yankees president Randy Levine swiftly called those comments inaccurate, as well as a claim that he had told Dr. Bryan Kelly that he did not want to see Rodriguez on the field again. Rodriguez said on Sunday that he had read the article but declined to comment further.

Cashman said that Rodriguez had received the best medical care possible from the Yankees' training staff, team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad and also Kelly, who performed a procedure to repair Rodriguez's left hip in January. Levine has challenged Rodriguez to authorize the public release of his medical records.

"No one has hid anything from the guy," Cashman said. "The medical records are what they are. And if somebody wants to dispute them and fight over an opinion, that's fine. But there's a process for it. No one purposely did anything other than try to put the best team out on that field on a daily basis."

Cashman said that the Yankees have medical records that indicate Rodriguez was not receiving treatment for injuries, nor complaining of any, until he was pinch-hit for in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Orioles.

"So then he meets with [manager] Joe [Girardi] separately and says, 'Listen, don't give up on me, put me back in there,'" Cashman said. "He's fighting to stay in. But I see Alex's comments [Friday] saying, 'I never should have been out there,' which contradicts his own comments.

"I see his attorney talking about we're running him out there 'like an invalid.' I guess he's also lumping Alex in that, because, again, he was fighting to play."

Cashman said that Girardi and the Yankees' coaching staff have done a "remarkable job" separating Rodriguez's duties as a player from his legal situation, and expressed confidence that Rodriguez will continue to be handled professionally as long as he is a member of the Yankees' roster.

"Clearly, this is an issue that none of us ever signed up for," Cashman said.

Jeter won't return when first eligible Tuesday

BOSTON -- Yankees captain Derek Jeter took ground balls and participated in batting practice on Sunday at the club's complex in Tampa, Fla., but he will not be activated when eligible on Tuesday.

Manager Joe Girardi said that Jeter is recovering from his strained right calf, which sent him to a third stint on the disabled list this season, but Jeter has not yet run the bases and would then need to participate in game action.

"My guess is he'll do a simulated game and maybe a couple of games in the Minors, possibly," Girardi said. "Maybe he'll just do simulated, but it's going to be more than one [day]."

Jeter will participate in a simulated game on Monday at the Yankees' complex, and Girardi said he could not bank on having Jeter for the team's series against the Rays next week at Tropicana Field.

"Well, he wouldn't have to go far," Girardi said. "I guess that anything is possible, but until he's able to run freely, I don't think you can really put a date on it. And he hasn't done that yet."

Jeter strained the same calf in 2011, stalling his pursuit of 3,000 hits. That injury cost Jeter three weeks on the disabled list; Jeter said earlier this month that he expects to return in a shorter time frame.

Bombers bits

• Curtis Granderson does not have any physical limitations forcing him to the DH role, Girardi said, but Alfonso Soriano's hot stretch has kept Girardi from altering his lineup too much.

"Sori has been on such a roll, I don't really want to change anything that he's doing," Girardi said.

• The Yankees will start Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes in Tuesday's day-night doubleheader against the Blue Jays. Girardi said he is leaning toward having Nova start the day game. He also said that he expects Andy Pettitte and Adam Warren to start Wednesday and Thursday against Toronto, in some order.

• On this date in 1989, Bucky Dent replaced Dallas Green as the Yankees' manager.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.